Skyhooked Punk - Day Three - Tall Card
Not twenty minutes later, Edwards was ordering a round of drinks at the Drunken Duck Tavern. “Tall card ... Plum.” She said, dealing the hand. “Plums are tall.” Edwards stated sipping the peach wine. “You sure you want to go through with this?” Keller asked the doc. Still time to negotiate until I ante up and pick up that card. “Having second thoughts?” Edwards asked with a wry smile and arch brow. A doc and equipment to boot her ship would be wonderfully set. “Not fond of bettin’ people, like they were chattel.” Keller replied. “Boy may be indentured to me, but that don’t mean I’m willin’ to pawn him off like he weren’t a person. That’s your sport, not mine. Shuffle ‘em again.” Dorian accepted the glass, then set it to rest, untouched, on a nearby table. “Ah have a few thoughts,” he glanced toward the slaver. “Should Captain Keller lose this hand, Ah’ve committed. Ah’ll serve out tha full term with nary a complaint...but not in chains, and not gettin’ electrocuted evah time yah get indigestion.” “But,” he continued, “there has tah be some parity here. Keller loses, yah got two an’ some fine equipment. Keller wins,” Adler paused, “and we all walk free...along with our pick of one from yah crew.” “Upping the ante? All right. I’ll agree to your terms, but, in addition, if I win, I get my pick of your cargo, or your crew.” “Waste of time,” Adler folded his arms. Keller shifted his jaw and nodded. “As long as that crew is me, than we have a deal. I ain’t puttin’ up no one can’t be here to speak for themselves.” “Broken down drunken Captain? Pass. I get my pick or deal’s off.” Dorian touched Keller’s shoulder. “C’mon,” he said. “She’d rather keep a guessin’ game goin’ than a fair sitdown. There’s nothin’ tah gain here.” “Fair sit down is I get what we bargained for, you and the med equipment, you want to throw in stipulations, I want to up what I get in return.” Keller nodded confidently. “We’ll see your ante. Just deal the gorram cards.” Edwards tapped the deck of cards on the table, dealing them between her and Keller. Keller let out a slow breath and checked his hand. “Check.” He said flatly without emotion. “Check.” She echoed. “Three.” Keller said in the same tone, facing three cards down on the table. Edwards chuckled in response, dealing out three cards. “Three. No tall claim. Dealer takes two and is forced to claim the Tall.” “One.” Keller said, placing one more card down on the table. “One?” Edwards replied with another smile and a shrug. She gave him the final card. “Dealer claims the tall and holds. From Dorian’s perspective, there were so many things wrong with this scenario. The fact that Edwards herself was dealing the cards was a disaster of incompetence. Add that to the ease with which Keller acquiesced to every demand, rolled over on every ante. Comes a time, he thought, when a bettin’ man understands the value of walking out on a rigged game..” Of course, they were long past that point now. He really didn’t give two rats’ asses about his own future...that had been stolen on a hillside in Serenity Valley...but there was a nineteen year old kid who was about to spend the next three years as a victim of some electroshock crazed deck boss…. Both Captains nodded. “Call.” “Call. Heavy boat.” Edwards said, clicking her tongue to her teeth. Keller white knuckled a fist with his free hand before splaying his cards on the table. “Four pretty sisters.” He said letting a smile cross his face. “Which means -- You give me my gorram crew chief.” Edwards scowled, shuffling through the rest of the deck. “You can look through ‘em all you want -- Game was fair and square, Adler, c’mon, let’s go collect. Bring your two friends just in case.” He swiftly stood up from the table. Dorian cocked an eyebrow. “Now yah want me tah play cowboy.” “Only if things go really wrong -- Let’s go get what’s ours.” He said, nodding towards the door.